Pop legends DURAN DURAN today confirmed that they have secured The Lyceum Theatre in the West End of London on Monday December 3 as the replacement venue for their first UK show in two years. The Lyceum date replaces the previously announced Odeon Leicester Square play that was cancelled two weeks ago by city officials, who were concerned that the venue and surrounding area would be under siege from thousands of hopeful fans attempting to buy tickets for the concert that everyone believed would sell out in a matter of minutes.Duran Duran’s one-night-only performance at the Lyceum is being staged as part of a series of events around the world to celebrate the release of the band’s highly anticipated new album ‘Red Carpet Massacre’. Currently band members Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor are in New York, where they have been in residence for two weeks on Broadway, receiving some of the best reviews of their career.The band’s plans for their first UK date in two years have been in the making for some time, but when the original Odeon Leicester Square show was announced two weeks ago by Simon and John on GMTV, the venue’s telephone ticket-lines rapidly went into meltdown with the volume of calls, and within 24 hours the Metropolitan Police and Westminster Council had decided to shut down the event due to concerns over crowd control in and outside the theatre.Since that time, the band and their team have been working around the clock to find a suitable alternative for this one-off premiere and are thrilled that they have now secured The Lyceum – where the band first played more than 25 years ago.Speaking from New York this morning, singer Simon LeBon said “We are lucky to have found such an elegant alternative to the Odeon and even better that it’s somewhere with which we have a long-standing connection. The theatre has been the home for the ‘Lion King’ for the past few years so we are grateful to all concerned that they are allowing us to bring in our production for this one night.”Performing for well over two hours on December 3rd, the band will take the audience on a musical journey, presenting their new record in its entirety, together with many of the band’s classic hits from the past 29 years and a special electro set that will delight their loyal army of fans.This concert will be the band’s first UK date in support of their exciting new release, which they have worked on over the past year with Justin Timberlake and top producers Timbaland and Nate ‘Danja’ Hills.

With tickets priced at £100, £75 and £60 (plus applicable service charges), Duran Duran Fan Community members will be able to purchase both tickets and exclusive VIP packages in advance of the general public from Thursday November 15th at 7pm GMT. For full details of this pre-sale visit www.duranduranmusic.com.All remaining tickets will be available to the general public from Friday November 16th at 9 am GMT through Ticketmaster: 0844 775 775 or www.aeglive.co.uk.

Duran Duran’s ‘RED CARPET MASSACRE’ marks an all time creative high in the band’s illustrious career. As Nylon Magazine described it in their most recent issue “it’s like a stroke of lightning captured on record… it’s a triumph, a marvel, and a hell of a lot of fun. Duran Duran have got their sexy back.”

Remarking on their upcoming London date, drummer Roger Taylor said “We have made an album that we are all really proud of and we wanted to present it in a very unique way. We have had an amazing run on Broadway (despite this weekend’s strike action) and have found it really exciting performing to our fans in a theatre environment again.”Bassist John Taylor added: “We agreed we wanted to do something very different and special in the UK while we were still making the record and have been planning how we’re going to stage it for the past few months. Nick and I have been particularly engaged in this and are really excited about the production. When our Odeon show was shut down a couple of weeks ago we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to find a really great alternative – as we weren’t just looking for another rock and roll venue to take this in to. The Lyceum Theatre is without question the perfect replacement for us – it’s bigger, it’s still in the West End of London and it is an astonishing beautiful building.”Rehearsals for the London show took place throughout October prior to the band’s two week run in New York, which will end tomorrow, on November 13th, and as singer Simon LeBon noted: “We spent way more time than usual rehearsing for this show because we are adding so much in the way of new material to the set. Usually when we go out we only introduce three or four new songs into the show but this time we’re playing everything off the new record.”Alongside the Lyceum date, the band members have also confirmed that they will perform a special one-off concert two days later for their Irish fans, on December 5th as part of the Live At The Marquee Concert Series at The Phoenix Park, Dublin.* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Lyceum Theatre is located at 21 Wellington Street, London WC2E 7RQTickets priced at £100, £75 and £60 (plus applicable service charges) and VIP packages, will be available to Duran Duran Fan Community members in advance of the general public from Thursday November 15th at 7pm GMT. For full details of this pre-sale visit www.duranduranmusic.com.All remaining tickets will be available to the general public from Friday November 16th at 9 am GMT through Ticketmaster: Tel: 0844 775 775 or www.aeglive.co.uk.Live At The Marquee Concert Series at The Phoenix Park, Dublin on 5 December. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday 12 November at 9.00am.In Ireland 0818 719300UK 0870 243 4455International +353 14-569-569Book On-Line www.ticketmaster.ie